[Roosta]

Originally Posted by WonderMomma ↗

"An echelon of Russian trucks and modernized BRDM-2MS armored reconnaissance vehicles is heading west from the 103rd armored personnel carrier in Buryatia to become scrap metal somewhere in Ukraine, - OSINTdefender"

[WonderMomma]

"Czech-supplied ShKH DANA vz. 77 SPH in Ukrainian service."

[WonderMomma]

Originally Posted by WonderMomma ↗

Just found this video in relation to your question Honestly, he's been talking about nuclear weapons and making veiled threats almost since Ukraine started receiving aid from NATO countries.

I have no idea if this is just another case of him puffing his chest or not. He seems to be carefully stating that he's continuing preparations (training in a couple of months) for such an escalation should he need to. He's careful to say he'll remain faithful to his commitments made to his partners; perhaps to placate China specifically since they just made a visit to him.

Should we be worried? I don't think anymore than we were a year ago. I think he is only mentioning other countries using them first to excuse the fact they're preparing for it. But I think he's smart enough to know that using nukes will likely be a point of no return for him and his country.

I truly hope it does not get to that point but who knows how far he'd go.

Source: "Putin announced that Russian strategic nuclear weapons were placed in Belarus. He said that Russia already placed an Iskander complex there which can be a carrier of nuclear weapons?"

Originally Posted by WonderMomma ↗

NO MEDIA

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine demands an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council because of Russia's intention to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus.

The MFA appealed to Belarusian society to prevent the deployment of nuclear weapons on their territory in violation of its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry warned that such actions would further turn Belarus into a hostage of the Kremlin and have catastrophic consequences for its future."

DOH!

Article: https://www.newsweek.com/china-russi...eapons-1790535 (there are many articles available about this, just posting the first one I found)

China Responds to Putin's Threat to Break Nuclear Weapons Pledge
3/27/23 AT 11:02 AM EDT

China renewed calls for de-escalation in Ukraine on Monday and reminded Russia of its recent opposition to nuclear war days after President Vladimir Putin announced plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus.

Putin told state television on Saturday that a storage depot for such weapons was being built at Minsk's request and would be completed by July. He didn't say whether the Russian weapons would be transferred to the country in the same month.

His comments—framed as a response to a similar posture adopted by the United States—appeared to undermine a position he took with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping just days earlier, when the two leaders reaffirmed their opposition to nuclear war and jointly opposed the deployment of nuclear weapons abroad during the latter's high-profile state visit to Moscow.

"In January last year, the leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states issued a joint statement noting that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought, and stressed that war between nuclear-weapon states should be avoided and strategic risks reduced," Mao Ning, China's foreign ministry spokesperson, said at a regular press briefing.

"Under the current circumstances, all sides should focus on diplomatic efforts for a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis and work together for de-escalation," said Mao.

In the Russia-1 TV broadcast, Putin preemptively dismissed concerns that his plans would violate Russia's nonproliferation obligations. Russia would not be giving strategic arms to Belarus, he said; instead, it would be deploying the weapons in an allied territory and transferring the equipment and know-how to use them.

Minsk said last month that it was autonomously operating Moscow-supplied nuclear-capable Iskander missile launch systems, which can reach deep into neighboring Ukraine and NATO member Poland.

"There is nothing unusual here either. Firstly, the United States has been doing this for decades. They have long deployed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allied countries," said Putin. It would be Russia's first deployment of nuclear weapons beyond its borders since the 1990s.

Three days before his state media appearance, Putin and Xi signed a lengthy joint communique to deepen the strategic alignment between their two countries. In the document, the leaders reaffirmed the January 2022 statement against nuclear war, which was signed by all of the "P5"—the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—just weeks before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"All nuclear-weapon states should refrain from deploying nuclear weapons abroad and withdraw nuclear weapons deployed abroad," Putin and Xi agreed.

"The two sides reaffirmed that the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons is the cornerstone of the international nuclear disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation system," they said. "The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to the treaty and will continue to work together to maintain and strengthen the treaty and maintain world peace and security."

The line was followed immediately by their shared opposition to AUKUS, the trilateral pact that will see the U.S. and the United Kingdom jointly supply the hardware for Australia's first nuclear-powered submarine fleet by early next decade, as well as the technology for Canberra to deliver its own silent boats in the decade after that.

After it became clear that Russia's war in Ukraine would be a protracted conflict, Western leaders began to argue that China could help dissuade the Kremlin from using tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield. In successive meetings with Xi late last year, European officials saw the Chinese president's willingness to oppose nuclear war as a positive sign, despite Putin's occasional saber-rattling.

Immediately after Xi's state visit to Russia, Josep Borrell, the European Union's foreign policy chief, told reporters that the trip "reduces the risk of nuclear war." Beijing made its opposition "very, very clear" to Moscow, he said.

On Sunday, Borrell tweeted: "Belarus hosting Russian nuclear weapons would mean an irresponsible escalation and threat to European security. Belarus can still stop it, it is their choice. The EU stands ready to respond with further sanctions."

Tactical nuclear weapons are for use on the battlefield and are shorter range and much less powerful than strategic weapons, which can wipe out cities.

Kyiv has asked the U.N. Security Council to meet over Putin's announcement. The remaining members of the P5 had an obligation "to counter the nuclear threat from the Kremlin," Ukraine's foreign ministry said.

Washington's confidence in Putin's level of self-restraint was brought lower in February after he decided to halt Russia's participation in New START, the last remaining major arms control treaty. But it has responded cautiously to the news out of Moscow.

"We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture, nor any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon," State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told Newsweek on Sunday in a written statement.

NOTE: attached photo was not a part of the article above.

[WonderMomma]

I wasn't going to post this but it's all over Ukrainian channels.

"Ukrainian navigator Denys Kyrylyuk died on a combat mission. He made more than 80 sorties. In August 2022, Denys was awarded the Order "For Courage" III degree "for personal courage and selfless actions shown in the defense of state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."

Only 19 days ago, Kyrylyuk had a son. He is also survived by his wife and young daughter."

[WonderMomma]

Originally Posted by ljubodrag ↗

Hand full? Only today the General Staff of North Macedonia has backed the transfer to Ukraine of 12 (twelve) Mi-24 military helicopters that it purchased from Kyiv two decades ago. Today. Twelve.

"North Macedonia agrees to transfer 12 Mi-24 attack helicopters to Ukraine

Earlier, on March 22, the media reported that Ukraine had sent a request to Macedonia for the transfer of attack helicopters. This comes as the country plans to replace its Soviet helicopters with Western models.

On March 25, Macedonian defense minister, Slovianka Petrovska, said on television that her country would give Ukraine 12 Mi-24 helicopters. Earlier, the same helicopters were purchased from Ukraine along with four Su-25s in 2001, when the country was fighting Albanian separatists.

After the Macedonian victory, the country almost never used combat aircraft (2 to 4 helicopters remain in service), although some of them have been modernized.

Earlier, in early August, Macedonia had already handed over four Su-25s that it had previously purchased from us."

[WonderMomma]

Originally Posted by WonderMomma ↗

DOH!

Article: https://www.newsweek.com/china-russi...eapons-1790535 (there are many articles available about this, just posting the first one I found)

[removed article; hit white arrow to see it]

Germany and the United States react to the statement about the deployment of nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus - media

An unnamed senior US administration official gave a "cautious" comment to Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/world/europe...-2023-03-25/):

"We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture nor any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon. We remain committed to the collective defence of the NATO alliance," the official said.

"It's part of Putin's game to try to intimidate NATO... because there's no military use for it in Belarus because Russia has so many of these weapons and forces inside Russia," said Hans Christensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists

A representative of the German Foreign Ministry told AFP that the announcement was "another attempt by Russia to use nuclear intimidation" and that Berlin would not allow such a move by Moscow to "throw us off our course."

NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov tweeted that "the Kremlin has taken Belarus as a nuclear hostage."

[WonderMomma]

"Video of the delivery of MiG-29 aircraft from the Ministry of Defense of Slovakia"

[ljubodrag]

Highlights of Russian Military Operation in Ukraine on March 28.

[marekparek]

Originally Posted by ljubodrag ↗

Highlights of Russian Military Operation in Ukraine on March 28.

So you fuckers literaly didnt move anywhere and you just bombed civilans

[WonderMomma]

Source: AFP (Agence France-Presse)
IAEA chief Grossi visits Ukraine nuclear plant
30 March 2023

KYIV: The head of the United Nations' atomic watchdog was expected on Wednesday to visit Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is currently held by Russian forces.

There are persistent fears about the safety of Europe's largest nuclear facility, which is in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, where there has been frequent shelling since Russian troops invaded.

Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and his delegation were expected to arrive on Wednesday morning and leave by afternoon, according to the Russian news agency TASS, citing an official with Russia's nuclear operator Rosenergoatom.

This will be Grossi's second visit to Zaporizhzhia since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and he plans to "assess first-hand the serious nuclear safety and security situation at the facility," the IAEA said.

The agency has had a team of experts inside the plant since last September, but Grossi said the situation "is still precarious."

Before his visit, he met on Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said it was not possible to restore safety at the nuclear plant with Russia still in control.

"Without the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops and personnel from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and adjacent territory, any initiatives to restore nuclear safety and security are doomed to failure," Zelenskyy told Grossi.

The plant needs a reliable electricity supply to ensure essential nuclear safety and security functions.

But it has suffered repeated electricity outages during the war, causing alarm in the IAEA and the international community.

The invasion has caused devastation across swathes of the country, and despite more than 13 months of grueling battles, Ukraine's top diplomat on Tuesday struck a defiant tone.

"Russia has to withdraw from every square meter of Ukrainian territory," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a virtual session ahead of the Summit for Democracy, which United States President Joe Biden will formally kick off on Wednesday.

"There should be no misinterpretation of what the word withdrawal implies," he added.

'Crime of aggression'

In Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, fighting in recent months has been concentrated on the city of Bakhmut, with Kyiv saying it is holding out in the urban hub to exhaust Russian troops.

A key military objective of Russia's invasion is the complete capture of Donetsk, which it already claimed to have annexed last year even as fighting there is ongoing.

Moscow said on Tuesday it had for the first time downed a long-range rocket supplied by the US to Ukraine.

"Air defense (forces) downed... a GLSDB-guided rocket," Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement, referring to ground-launched small-diameter bombs.

These devices have a range of up to 150 kilometers (93 miles), which could threaten Russian positions and supply depots far behind the frontlines.

On the legal front, the US on Tuesday threw its support behind a special international tribunal to try Russia for "aggression" against Ukraine.

The crime of aggression, also known as a crime against peace, was last prosecuted against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in the aftermath of World War 2.

"We envision such a court having significant international support," a US State Department spokesman said.

The European Union has already advocated for such a tribunal, which could bring fresh charges against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

So far, the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the alleged war crime of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.

The Kremlin has dismissed the warrant as "void," as Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC.